Make a Statement
The MOUTH masks are more than a protective comfort mask. They call for a re-definition of our domesticated world, a renewed respect for nature and a dedicated focus on the well-being of the other(s), human and non-human.
Artist Koen Vanmechelen, ecologist Ignace Schops and human rights expert Manfred Nowak lead the movement. They invite you to join our community, to wear a mask, to make a statement.
Through and thanks to a growing community of people, we will set a strong example to protect the other(s). Together, we will show a turnaround is possible !
This is not a Chicken - an evolving work of ART
‘This is not a chicken’ carries the content of artist Koen Vanmechelen's life long work. The reference to Rene Magritte's famous 'ceci n'est pas une pipe' is no coincidence.
Vanmechelen's Cosmopolitan Chicken Project started 25 years ago as a metaphor for creating a vital and healthy society. It reveals the implications of our increased domestication and visualizes the importance of diversity. Over the years, it has had to break through many barriers. From international borders and mental walls to compulsory quarantine and chicken flu. Now more then ever, the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project serves as a mirror for our society. It is the perfect symbol to carry this global movement.
This is not a Chicken - NATURE, the domesticated and the wild
COVID-19 is teaching us to rediscover the importance of space. For other species. For ecosystems. For each other. It is showing us we have a choice to make, to work on open physical and mental spaces to create a better society and protect fellow humans and fellow species.
By protecting others, we defend ourselves, which is the central mantra of this project. By being careful stewards of nature, we will care for ourselves. The chicken, as the most domesticated animal, apart from the human-animal, has shown us that disregarding the mantra leads to commodification and destruction. As the most domesticated species, humans can learn from that and choose not to be a chicken.
This is not a Chicken - HUMAN RIGHTS, of culture and nature
Essential for a post-corona world is to restore a balance for all who make up the living organism called Earth. Only then will healthy co-existence be possible for all.
To protect the rights to health and dignified life for our children and future generations, we must also protect the rights to life and health of other species, the rights of Nature, and Mother Earth.
With the MOUTH mask we make this statement through an evolving work of Art, that Nature is a Human Rights and that we have a responsibility to respect the other.
The MOUTH Mask project is coordinated by the Mouth Foundation and the Cosmogolem Foundation, who support the distribution of comfort masks to more vulnerable groups at home and abroad. A first 10,000 masks will be donated to projects in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Chili, Belgium and the US. In addition, we provide sewing machines and cloth to our community partners for local production.
And for every mask we sell, we donate an additional mask to a one our community projects.